


Who Saw That Coming

by Saltybaltic



Series: CarolNat College AU [1]
Category: Captain Marvel (2019), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-22
Updated: 2019-10-07
Packaged: 2020-10-26 02:44:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 21,329
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20734970
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Saltybaltic/pseuds/Saltybaltic
Summary: College AU series with Natasha Romanoff and Carol Danvers. A story of how two girls come together despite all of their differences.





	1. Heads Up

Natasha had always found sitting out on the field by the edge of the campus peaceful. To an outsider that might seem ridiculous; the sound of the football team training to one side, a boyfriend and girlfriend arguing behind her, cheerleader practice in the distance, a group of seniors having a heated debate about an upcoming party on the bench to her left, and the ever present pounding of cleats on the ground as the track team ran literal circles around her. For some reason that she couldn’t put her finger on though, it soothed her.

Until college Natasha had always considered herself a lone wolf, growing up without any real friends. Not that it had ever bothered her much and it had always been by choice. Since her arrival at college though, everything had changed. People had been curious about the mysterious red head with piercing green eyes who sat quietly at the back of class making notes. And it seemed it had just taken the right people to bring her out of her shell, dragging her along to social clubs and parties until eventually she wasn’t so quiet around the tight knit group of idiots she called friends any more. Shy smiles and nervous glances turned to a real smart mouth and witty comments that people sometimes couldn’t believe were coming from the quiet, little bookworm who sat forward at her desk, listening avidly in lectures.

Naturally this meant Natasha didn’t exactly run in the same circles as the people she found outside on the grass at campus. But she liked to be reminded that they were there, and she was a part of this place just the same as they were. It was comforting to be a part of something for once.

And so she would sit and listen to the sound of the people around her sometimes as she read over her books or made notes, not really paying much attention to the details but just enjoying it. Until one particular afternoon when the sound of feet pounding towards her and a shout of ‘heads up’ broke her from her thoughts just as a person literally collapsed to the ground beside her with a thud.

“Oh Jesus-that was a close one-are you okay?!” came the rushed jumble of words as the new arrival pushed herself up onto her knees, cradling a football in her arms as she brushed a few blades of grass from her shoulders. “I didn’t get you did I?”

Natasha blinked a few times as she tried to process what had just happened, scanning the other girl up and down as she crouched down beside her with a concerned smile. She recognised her a little, sure that she’d seen her around campus at least a couple of times although she definitely didn’t know her name. Natasha was certainly observant enough to pick up on the fact that this girl had to work out and it was obvious from the sports jersey and shorts that she was part of a group that wouldn’t have mixed with her own in the past.

Looking down at her own body and then back up at the other girl, Natasha quirked an eyebrow with a small smile, “Looks like I just about survived.”

“Hey, I’m real sorry about that. Idiots over there.” she ticked her head in the direction of the field behind her, “Dont know how to throw a football. Fortunately I know how to catch one.”

Natasha had to stop herself from rolling her eyes at the quick wink the blonde shot her, trying and failing not to sound bored in her reply “Very impressive.”

“Hey Danvers! Quit yapping and get over here!”

At the sound of her friends calling her, the girl threw the football back in their direction before turning back to Natasha with a puzzled smile, “Forgive me if I’m wrong but you don’t really sound like you mean that.”

“Well … you can train a dog to catch a ball.” drawled Natasha, a teasing tone to her voice.

The other girl grinned, “You know, you’re not wrong there. I’m very trainable.”

Natasha removed her glasses, throwing them down to join her book on the grass before leaning back on one of her hands and cocking her head to study the other girl properly, “I bet you are.”

There was a few moments of silence as both girls just looked back at each other, a small smile playing at their lips until eventually the other girl moved to hold out her hand.

“I’m Carol.”

Natasha looked down at the outstretched hand as if she wasn’t sure what to do for a second before finally slipping her hand into Carol’s with a gentle squeeze. “Natasha.”

“You know I’ve seen you around but I almost didn’t recognise you without your nose in a book.” started Carol, nodding down to the selection of books and folders that Natasha had brought with her, “Quite a collection you have there.”

As she finished speaking, Carol tucked her hand under the bottom of her vest, lifting it so she could use it to wipe at her face. Natasha found her eyes drawn to Carol’s now exposed torso and mentally scolded herself at the shiver that passed through her at the sight, forcing her eyes back up to meet the brown staring back at her, “I need them … I have a lot of class work.”

“Oi Danvers! Get your ass back over here! Captain my ass, we have training to do!”

Turning her head to face the person shouting at her, Carol shot them a warning glare before looking back at the red head, “Well Natasha … you ever want a break from all that class work, maybe I could take you out some place.”

“I don’t know about that,” started Natasha, shifting her position to tuck her legs underneath herself and leaning further towards Carol, “Seems your company is already in high demand, Captain.”

The way the title rolled off Natasha’s tongue was bordering on condescending but for reasons Carol couldn’t explain it practically made her mouth water and her grin only broadened, “I could always make time for a girl like you.”

Leaning even closer, Natasha set her face in front of Carol’s with a smirk, “Trust me, you’ve never met a girl like me.”

“Well I do like a challenge.” insisted Carol, not in the least bit thrown off by the fact Natasha seemed immune to her usually successful charm, “And like I said, I’m very trainable.”

Natasha hummed, “And I’m sure I’d love to whip you into shape. If only I didn’t have to get to class.”

Stumbling to her feet, all of Carol’s calmness and nonchalance went out of the window, as she brushed the grass from her clothing and gestured for Natasha to stand up, “How about I walk you?”

“I think I can find the way on my own …”

Carol bent down to grab the stack of books by Natasha’s side, scooping them into her arms before standing up straight again, “Come on, you’ve gotta let me carry your books, it’s the least I can do after nearly knocking you out with a football.”

Looking up at the way Carol was cradling all of her books in her hands, Natasha narrowed her eyes suspiciously with a small smirk, “Are you flexing right now?”

“Definitely not. This is just how my body looks. Why, are you impressed?”

Natasha couldn’t stop herself from rolling her eyes this time, rising to her feet and brushing the back of her jeans with her hands as she propped her glasses on the top of her head, “I thought you had practice anyway.”

“Meh.” Carol shrugged dismissively as she nodded her head in the direction of the main building as a signal for Natasha to start walking, “I can catch up later.”

Nodding her head in acceptance, Natasha took a step forward as Carol started walking alongside her, “This really isn’t necessary, I can carry my own books.”

“I know but I want to.” insisted Carol, holding the books a little tighter to her chest to reinforce her point, “Plus you’re like way too hot to be carrying your own books.”

Natasha gave Carol a side eye, a barely noticeable smile tugging at the corner of her lips, “That kind of makes it seem like you’re only interested in doing me a favour cause you wanna sleep with me. So I’m gonna give you one chance to rephrase that.”

“Oh I mean … I just … I wasn’t trying to say that. What I meant was you know … well … sorry, I’m usually much better at this.”

As Carol stumbled over her words for what Natasha was sure had to be the first time in her life, the red head couldn’t help but listen fondly to the sound and breathed out a laugh, “I thought you jock types were supposed to be cool.”

“Common misconception.” explained Carol, relaxing slightly as she saw the amusement on Natasha’s face, “I thought you nerdy girls weren’t supposed to be so intimidating.”

Natasha shrugged and her smirk broadened, “Well I did try to tell you that you’ve never met a girl like me before.”

The two girls continued to chat amicably about nothing of real importance as they walked towards Natasha’s class and Carol was so lost in listening to the sound of her voice and watching the way her lips moved with each word that she almost didn’t notice when they came to a stop outside of a door at the bottom of a corridor.

“So …” started Natasha, gesturing to the doorway, “This is me.”

“Oh. Right. Cool.” mumbled Carol, feeling uncharacteristically awkward as she hovered there with an armful of Natasha’s books as she considered what her next move should be. She could think of nothing good to say or do but desperately didn’t want this to be the last time they spoke.

Natasha acted first, reaching forward to take her items from Carol’s hold, “Thanks for the help.”

“Any time.” stated Carol, unable to hide the eagerness to her tone, “Seriously. Any time.”

Scanning her eyes purposefully over the other girl from head to toe, Natasha shot Carol a smirk, “I might just take you up on that.”

Carol stared back at the red head with a somewhat dumbfounded expression, not able to comprehend why this girl had rendered her a rambling, uncharasmatic and downright embarrassing mess. God if the rest of the team could see me now.

She was broken from her thoughts as Natasha went to step through the door, leaning forward and resting her hand on the frame so her arm blocked the other girl from stepping inside, “Can I see you again?”

Natasha said nothing at first, leaning in to Carol’s body and using the hand that wasn’t balancing her stack of books to smooth over the front of Carol’s jersey and grin as she felt the blonde push out a sharp breath at the contact, “Same place, same time, tomorrow. Maybe make a less dramatic entrance this time.”

“I can do that.” breathed out Carol, the words seeming a genuine effort with Natasha’s invasion of her personal space.

“Good girl.” teased Natasha, patting Carol’s cheek playfully a few times, “You’re very trainable indeed, Captain Danvers.”

For the first time in a long time Carol was speechless as Natasha simply smiled and ducked under her arm to step into the classroom without another word. There was only one thing Carol was sure of as she watched the red head go - this girl would almost certainly be the death of her.


	2. People Talk

##  _Carol_

“So who was that chick yesterday?”

Carol huffed out a sharp breath as she pulled herself forward for another sit up, “What chick?”

“You know what chick Danvers, stop stalling.” chuckled the man opposite her, mirroring her position with his hands by his temples, and doing a set of stomach crunches.

“I talk to a lot of girls.”

He laughed again, “Yeah, no shit. But I’m talking about a particular one. You know … red, braided hair, reading glasses, usually sat by herself studying, never comes to _any_ of our parties.”

Carol tried her best to keep her expression neutral and focus on the exercise drill the coach had given them in order to not make her excitement at the mention of Natasha glaringly obvious, “Oh yeah … I dunno, she was cute.”

“She was cute?” he repeated mockingly.

“Oh leave it out Rogers, I don’t interrogate you about every girl you speak to.” groaned Carol, trying to ignore the burning that was starting in her abs as she pushed through another set of sit ups, “Yeah she was cute.”

He laughed quietly but conceded all the same, throwing his hands up in defeat and continuing with his own crunches, “Not interrogating, just curious. She’s not your usual type.”

Pulling a face at her friend, Carol gave him a playful smirk, “You’re just jealous cause this girl is probably gonna be president of the United States or something and you’ll be dating some waitress at Wendy’s.”

He flopped back on the ground and laughed loud, propping himself up on his elbows and raising his eyebrows at the blonde, “Like a girl that smart would ever be stupid enough to sleep with you.”

##  _Natasha_

“So you wanna grab lunch this afternoon before class?”

Natasha looked up from the notes that were currently taking up most of her bed to shoot her room mate a smile, “I think I’m just gonna sit outside and catch up on some reading actually.”

“Like you have anything to catch up on.” muttered the other girl with a teasing grin.

Scrunching up her nose, Natasha poked her tongue out, “Seriously, suck my dick Maria.”

“Just saying … you’re at least a semester ahead of everyone else.”

“Well there’s always more to be done.” insisted Natasha, beginning to organise her pages of notes into a pile so she could get ready to leave.

Maria hummed quietly, tapping her chin in mock thought, “You sure it’s nothing to do with a certain track star that was sniffing around you yesterday?”

“What?!” Natasha’s composure faulted for just a moment but her room mate picked up on it, her grin broadening at the red head’s slight change in pitch, “I mean … what? Who said that?”

“You should know by now that people talk around here. The slightest inkling of gossip and it spreads like wild fire.”

Natasha let out a sigh, stuffing a few books and papers into her bag and shrugging dismissively, “There’s no gossip. She carried my books to class for me. End of story.”

“You’re sure?”

Shrugging again, Natasha gave the other girl a small smile that she hoped was convincing, “Pretty sure. I mean we talked a bit but not for long.”

“And you’re not interested in her?”

Natasha paused from packing her bag for just a second at the question before shaking her head from side to side, “Don't know enough about her to be interested.”

“You’ve got eyes right?” joked Maria, crossing her legs and turning to face her room mate from where she was sat on her bed, “Most girls would kill to have Danvers ‘carrying their books’ for them.”

Slinging her bag over her shoulder, Natasha picked up her keys and shrugged nonchalantly at Maria with a smirk, “Guess I’m not most girls.”


	3. Any Time

It wasn’t in Carol’s nature to get nervous. In all honesty she tended not to think things through long enough to actually be able to get nervous. But there was something about watching Natasha from the other side of the playing field that was making her heart pound and her palms sweat in a way that felt completely foreign to her. The way Natasha would occasionally stick her tongue out the corner of her mouth in concentration or push her glasses further up her nose had Carol thinking it might just be the most adorable thing she had ever born witness to. Maybe her friends were right. Why would a girl like that ever be stupid enough to be interested in her?

Regardless, she gave herself the usual prep talk to just pull herself together and keep her cool before taking a final calming breath and beginning to make her way over to join the other girl. When she was just a few feet away, she almost stopped and walked in the opposite direction before it was too late, beginning to panic that maybe Natasha would just prefer to be left alone. After all, what were they going to talk about? What could they possibly have in common? What did Carol even have to offer her? But her stubbornness got the better of her in the end, eventually making her way over to where Natasha was sat quietly reading on the grass and flopping down beside her.

“Didn’t think I’d actually see you here.”

Carol seemed taken aback by Natasha’s statement, pleased that the red head didn’t actually look up from her book when she spoke to see the surprise on her face, “Well I said I would be.”

“I know.” hummed Natasha, folding over the corner of the page she was reading and closing the book. She tossed it carelessly to one side before actually looking up at Carol for the first time, “But you seemed more of a ‘thrill of the chase’ kind of girl.”

“Well I spend nearly all my time running.” explained Carol, leaning back on her elbow and stretching out her legs, “It’s nice to just sit.”

“I agree.” stated Natasha simply, resting one hand on the ground and leaning on it as she looked out across the campus. “Although it’s recently come to my attention that people talk and maybe you wouldn’t want them to talk about … _this_.”

Carol looked across at Natasha curiously, a small frown making its make across her face, “What people?”

“Good question. One I’m yet to get to the bottom of.”

Letting out a sigh, Carol gave a dismissive shrug of her shoulders, “People like to create gossip where there isn’t any.”

“True. But gossip seems to favour some more than others. We’ve barely spoken in the six months I’ve been here and yet I’ve heard plenty.”

Carol scrunched her nose up at Natasha’s comment, picking a few blades of grass out of the ground and tossing them to the side, “I’d say about five percent of it is true.”

“I think you’d win that bet.”

Looking up from where she had been playing with the grass, Carol gave Natasha a surprised raise of her eyebrows, the red head merely shooting her a small smile in return. “Most people would say there’s no smoke without fire.”

“Maybe.” said Natasha, pushing her glasses up onto the top of her head and tilting her head as she smiled wider at the other girl, “But I tend to like to learn things on my own before I make up my mind about something.”

“Me too.” agreed Carol, returning Natasha’s grin, “For one, you’re far too sassy to be as innocent as people make out.”

Natasha smirked, beginning to gather the books around her and pack them into her bag, “Sassy am I? Why, because I didn’t go all weak at the knees when _Captain Danvers_ offered to carry my books for me?”

For a fleeting moment Carol actually looked embarrassed at Natasha’s obvious jibe, but she composed herself almost immediately, “You can’t blame a girl for dreaming.”

“I suppose not.” agreed Natasha, rising to her feet and brushing herself off before picking up her bag.

As soon as Natasha went to sling the bag over her shoulder, Carol’s hand was there to catch it first and pull it out of Natasha’s hold before the red head could even try to argue.

“Carol I-“

“Hey I said any time.” insisted Carol, shrugging the bag onto her back, “How do you even carry this, it weighs like two hundred pounds.”

Scanning the other girl up and down, Natasha gave Carol a smirk, “And yet you make it look so effortless, _my hero_.”

“I know you’re making fun of me again,” started Carol, beginning to walk back towards the main building as Natasha fell into step with her, “But I don’t really much care if you keep looking at me like that.”

Natasha didn’t say anything in response, ignoring the mischievous glint in Carol’s eye and simply shooting her a sideways grin as they walked together towards Natasha’s class. They didn’t say much as they walked, just chatting about what classes they had coming up and unimportant things like how nice the weather was being lately.

But eventually they reached the door of the classroom again and Natasha stopped, holding her hand out expectantly as Carol returned the bag to her. Natasha found it amusing that Carol so obviously wanted to say something but seemed unable to do so, scuffing her toe against the ground and frowning as she tried to articulate the million things that were milling around her brain.

Natasha swung her bag over her shoulder, “So …”

“Would you go out with me?” Carol blurted the words out before she had a chance to talk herself out of it, the end result being an almost unintelligible stream of words.

Breaking into a small smile, Natasha eyed the other girl suspiciously, “Are you _sure_ you’re usually better at this?”

“Yes, definitely.” muttered Carol, trying to hide her embarrassment under the mask of what she hoped was a convincing grin.

Natasha nodded her head, clicking her tongue in acknowledgement as she gave Carol an unconvinced look, reaching into her bag and pulling out a pen as the blonde simply watched her with awe. She didn’t say anything as Natasha grabbed her hand, pulling it over towards her and turning it over as she started to scribble some numbers down on Carol’s palm.

“There you go.”

As Natasha went to open the door to the classroom, Carol looked down at the phone number on her skin and then back up at Natasha with a small frown, trying not to look too hopeful, “Wait, is that a yes?”

Natasha shrugged, “I suppose you’ll just have to ask me again later and find out.”

Carol simply watched as Natasha stepped into the class and closed the door behind her, looking down at the writing on her hand one last time and then back up to where the red head had just been standing. Yes. This girl would definitely be the death of her.


	4. Busy Later?

##  _Natasha_

Her phone had buzzed not long ago to let her know she had received a message. And the unknown number it was from told her it was probably going to be Carol. She had half expected the blonde to either leave it a while before contacting her, or possibly just forget the idea all together. The message Natasha was now staring at, told her that apparently she had been wrong.

_“Busy later? - Carol”_

Was all it had said, not that the abruptness surprised Natasha. She figured Carol was confident enough that Natasha would take her up on the offer. It wouldn’t shock her if girls rarely said no. From everything she’d heard about Carol through the grapevine, the legend for the most part lived up to its name. Natasha could see immediately why people found themselves so drawn to the blonde. She was attractive and charming and charismatic and Natasha had found her company pleasant. The fact that Carol was more than aware of all of this should have been obnoxious. But Natasha had to admit that for some reason it only made the blonde more attractive to her and despite her usual taste, she was certainly interested in Carol’s offer.

##  _Carol_

“Will you knock that off?” snapped Steve, looking away from the television to shoot his friend an irritated glance.

Carol ignored his request, bouncing the tennis ball at the opposite wall and catching it again, “I can’t sit still.”

“Well go for a run or throw that outside or something, the sound is driving me crazy.” he muttered, picking up the remote and turning up the volume.

Pausing from throwing the ball for a moment, Carol picked up her phone that was settled on the bed beside her to turn it over and check the screen. She pulled a face when she saw that there was no new messages before throwing it back down and tossing the ball against the wall again.

“Danvers I’m serious, knock it off!” ordered Steve, turning in his chair and frowning at the blonde, “What’s wrong with you?”

“Nothing.” mumbled Carol, continuing to ignore him and throwing the ball again. Just as it bounced off the wall, her phone buzzed on the mattress and she jumped to grab it, forgetting all about the ball until it smacked her in the chest. Steve snorted at the stupidity of what had just happened.

“Oh so its a girl, now I get it.” muttered Steve, turning back to the football game on the television.

Carol didn’t offer him a reply, her attention now completely taken over by the message displayed on her screen. A smile crept across her face as she read the words over a few times.

_I suppose I can free myself up for you x_

The happiness only lasted a fleeting second before panic set in. Where were they going to go?


	5. City Park

From the outside looking in, Carol probably looked the definition of relaxed; lay on her back across one of the benches on campus, a hand behind her head to prop it up and one leg bent at the knee as she stared up into the sky and let out a long breath. She was dressed in a grey hoodie emblazoned with the college name, a pair of ripped jeans and trainers covering the rest of her body. She had briefly toyed with the idea of making more of an effort with her attire but it seemed unnecessary to dress in anything more than casual. But all of the comfy clothing in the world couldn’t stop the way her heart was beating just a little faster than usual and the feeling of anxiety mixed with excitement in the pit of her stomach.

She had only been waiting around ten minutes when she heard foot steps making their way closer, tilting her head to find the source and her heart rate picking up even further when her eyes fell on Natasha walking over to join her. Carol couldn’t help but feel relieved. Firstly just that Natasha had actually turned up and secondly because she appeared to have dressed just as casual herself, her hair braided to the side and wearing just a t shirt, a black jacket and pair of jeans. She gave the blonde a small smile as she stopped in front of the bench, arms folded across her chest as she looked down at Carol, “Sorry, have you been waiting long?”

Immediately Carol sat up properly, turning her body to face Natasha as she gave the red head a reassuring grin with a shake of her head, “Don’t worry about it, I find all the best things in life require a little patience.”

Natasha hummed in amusement, “Someone’s on form this evening.”

“Well you deserve it.” stated Carol, standing up from the bench and nodding her head to the side, “You wanna go?”

“Sure. Although you haven’t actually told me where we’re going.”

Carol tucked her hands into her pockets as they started to walk along the path and away from the college, looking across at the other girl with a grin, “I’ve told you.”

“You told me we were going for a walk. Which for the record sounds ominous.”

Chucking quietly, Carol nudged Natasha with her shoulder, “And yet here you are.”

“Well I didn’t exactly have anything better to do on a Wednesday night and you seemed pretty excited to see me so I figured, what the hell.”

“Oh I see so this is all for my benefit is it?”

Natasha turned her hands up with a shrug, “Don’t worry, you’ve got time to change that.”

“It’s a good job I brought my A game this time.”

Natasha laughed, “That’s what you’re calling it, are you?”

The pair fell into comfortable conversation as they walked, heading away from the campus and further into the city. It was beginning to get dark outside, the sun finally setting in the distance and the noise quieting down as people started to head home for the night. The street lights were flickering into action and the usual buzz that filled the city faded the further they walked, until eventually they came to a park entrance and made their way inside.

“You know, for someone who spends all their time playing sports, I would have thought you’d jump at the opportunity to do something sat down.” observed Natasha as she let Carol lead her through the park.

Carol shrugged, “I get restless if I sit and do nothing. Plus I wasn’t exactly sure where you would want to go. I just … I dunno I just wanted to talk to you properly I guess.”

“Well this is nice.” said Natasha, looking out at their surroundings as the path curved round towards a large fountain, “It’s good to go somewhere a little calmer sometimes.”

“This is my favourite park.” explained Carol, “Less people come here.”

Natasha looked back at the blonde with interest, “I figured a social butterfly like you would enjoy the company.”

Watching as Natasha hopped up onto the side of the fountain, Carol smiled as the red head held her arms out to balance and started to walk around the edge, “Yeah well … when it comes to company less can sometimes be more.”

“I agree.”

Carol stepped over towards where Natasha was balancing, walking around the outside of the fountain beside her, “So do you want to maybe … do something properly with me some time? I don’t really know what you like doing.”

“How about we finish off today first.” started Natasha, hopping down to the ground beside Carol and turning to face her so that she could rest her hands on her shoulders with a smile, “The night is young after all.”

Carol was briefly distracted by how easy it would be to lean forward and kiss the other girl, giving her head a shake and trying to keep herself focused as Natasha gave her shoulders a squeeze, “That’s fine with me, I’m not finished with you yet, don’t worry.”

They kept walking through the park, occasionally stopping to look at something in particular or to sit on one of the benches and just talk. It surprised both girls how easily they fell into conversation and how fast time went by and before they knew it had been several hours and they had done at least two laps of the park.

“We should probably head back.” said Carol reluctantly, looking at her watch and frowning, “I gotta get up early, I have training first thing.”

Natasha nodded, following Carol’s lead as she turned and started to walk back towards the college, “You know we could have just done this some other time if you needed the rest.”

“I wanted to see you.” insisted Carol, “Besides I’m not going to have much time next week. I have a competition and then a test to study for and I don’t really have any idea what I’m doing in the test department.”

“Well … maybe I could help you if you want?”

Carol looked across to the other girl and grinned, “Oh you’re much too distracting to have around if you want me to learn anything.”

It took Carol by surprise when Natasha stepped closer, hooking her arm under Carol’s and linking them together as they continued to walk.

“I’m sure I could always come up with some incentives for you to behave yourself.”

“Very tempting.” Carol tried to ignore the way her heart rate picked up when Natasha gave her arm a squeeze as she spoke.

Looking up at their surroundings as they made their way back onto the college grounds, Natasha let out a content sigh, “This has been a good night.”

“It has.” agreed Carol, letting Natasha lead her until they came to a stop outside of one of the many buildings that filled the campus.

“You can be quite pleasant company when you put your mind to it.” said Natasha, letting go of Carol’s arm and stepping to the side so they were stood opposite one another as she gestured to the large wooden doors behind her, “So I guess I should get inside.”

Carol nodded, looking down at the ground briefly for a second as she dipped her hands into the pockets of her hoodie. “Sure, sure.”

“Thanks for tonight.”

As Natasha went to turn on the spot and head inside, Carol managed to snap her body into action. She reached forward to take a hold of Natasha’s elbow, stepping forward a few times until she had walked them both backwards and they were more well hidden under the roof that hung over the door. Carol didn’t miss the way Natasha’s breathing hitched as she closed the gap between the two of them, her hand still wrapped around Natasha’s arm and their bodies pressed against one another.

Carol’s eyes drifted to Natasha’s mouth, her breath coming out heavier as she watched the red head bite down on her lower lip. There was a faint, pink tinge to Natasha’s cheeks and the way the green in her eyes had darkened ever so slightly gave Carol all the confidence she needed to say what she wanted to.

“Can I kiss you?”

Natasha’s tongue slipped out and wet her lips at Carol’s question, glancing over the blondes shoulder to ensure they were definitely alone before taking Carol’s face in her hands and bringing their lips together. As soon as Natasha kissed her, Carol released her hold on the other girls arm as she rested both hands on her hips instead. Natasha tugged on Carol’s face harder, taking a final step towards the door until her back was pressed against it. She deepened the kiss eagerly, slipping her tongue into Carol's mouth and barely suppressing a groan at the way Carol kissed her back and gripped her waist tighter. The kiss didn’t last long but by the time they pulled back from one another they were both struggling for breath.

Carol raised a hand to rest it by Natasha’s head against the door, sucking in a breath as she broke out into a grin, “If I’d known you could kiss like that, I’d have done it sooner.”

“Maybe you should have asked me sooner.”

Chuckling under her breath, Carol wiggled her eyebrows playfully, “Maybe next time I will.”

“Get yourself home sports star.” teased Natasha, patting Carol’s chest gently a few times, “I’d hate to be to blame for you not getting enough rest.”

“Okay but I’m gonna call you.”

Leaning forward to peck Carol’s lips one last time, Natasha smiled, “You better.”


	6. Breakfast

Making her way out of the cafeteria, Carol was so distracted by the cereal bar she was quite literally stuffing into her mouth that she didn’t notice the person walking towards her until they slammed in to one another.

“Jesus, I’m sorry. Shit.” mumbled Carol, the words barely distinguishable with her mouth so full of food as she quickly chewed to try and swallow it. She wanted to help the person who she’d collided with, but her hands were occupied juggling a water bottle, a banana and her cereal so she pretty much just stood there and flapped as they straightened themselves out and she finally realised who it was she had walked into.

“One of these days you’re actually going to do me some damage if you’re not careful.”

Swallowing down the food in her mouth, Carol laughed nervously at Natasha’s comment, “Yeah I … sorry I was in kind of a rush. Got to get to the track and I didn’t exactly leave time for breakfast.”

“It’s okay just try to look where you’re going next time.” teased Natasha.

Carol nodded, taking another large bite of the food in her hand and mumbling through her mouthful, “I’ve been meaning to call you by the way … I’ve just been … Well I have this competition today and then my test in a few days and I haven’t even started studying and … what I’m trying to say is I’ve just been busy, sorry.”

“Your time management gives me anxiety.”

“Tell me about it.” Carol stuffed the last of the cereal bar into her mouth before tossing the wrapper into the bin behind her, “You think maybe if I got a little better at managing my time, you could make some time for me?”

Natasha tilted her head in thought, just watching Carol for a moment as the blonde started to peel her banana before taking a huge bite, “You eat like _ridiculously_ fast.”

Carol grinned, “Hey, I’m a growing girl.”

“Focus on what you need to get done for now.” started Natasha, reaching forward and tugging on one of the draw strings of Carol’s hoodie, “Then I’m sure I can fit you into my schedule.”

Opening her mouth to speak, Carol abruptly closed it again when she heard one of her team mates calling her from way down the corridor, only now registering that she was actually running extremely late.

“Take a day off for once Danvers! The girls can wait but we can’t, come on!”

Carol wanted to cringe at the statement, not missing the way Natasha blushed and ducked her head at the words that had pretty much been bellowed for everyone in the cafeteria to hear. It didn’t help that all of Carol’s team mates seemed amused by their captain’s embarassment, laughing amongst themselves as Carol tried to ignore them.

“Assholes.” Carol muttered quietly under her breath, turning to shoot them an irritated glare before looking back at Natasha, “Listen I _really_ have to run, we’ll speak soon though yeah?”

“Yeah sure, good luck.” Natasha couldn’t help but feel a little embarrassed, knowing that at least a few people were now giving their conversation some looks. She spoke quietly, not wanting to draw any further attention to herself as Carol shot her a final smile before turning and breaking into a run after the rest of her friends. She watched as the blonde jumped on one of them, grabbing him in a headlock and ruffling up his hair as he laughed and wrestled to get free. Obviously he was going to pay for his joke. Natasha just hoped to avoid any further ones at her expense.


	7. Help Me

##  _Carol_

Groaning in frustration, Carol dropped her head down onto the table she was currently occupying, throwing her pen to one side in what could only be described as a toddler tantrum. She had been studying for her upcoming test for what felt like an eternity now but no matter how hard she tried she just didn’t feel like any of it was making sense. Carol was by no means an idiot, however she had hardly been the model student lately and late night parties combined with early morning training sessions had left her way further behind than she wanted to be.

Lifting her head from the table, Carol rubbed at her temples in an attempt to focus, blinking a few times at the different problems printed on the page in front of her and willing them to make any kind of sense. Perhaps she should have paid attention more in class but it was too late for that now. She briefly toyed with the idea of just giving up all together before deciding that was stupid. She even considered asking one of her friends for help before realising that was even stupider.

She pushed the papers around a few times in the hope that maybe just rearranging them would force them to make sense but when that didn’t work, she finally pulled her phone out of her pocket and threw it down onto the table instead. Carol stared at the screen for a good few minutes as she weighed up her options. She knew exactly what she _wanted_ to do but she couldn’t decide whether it was a good idea or if it was even an option in the first place. Ultimately she decided there was only one way to find out.

##  _Natasha_

Pulling her stack of books closer to her chest, Natasha made her way hastily across campus. She had been busy with classes all day and was desperate for a chance to just rest her brain and put her feet up. She was more than aware that there was a distinct possibility she was overdoing things but she had always been a perfectionist and she needed to feel like she was ahead on things. That meant an awful lot of work sometimes but Natasha would be damned if she was going to spend all this time at school and not give it her all.

She nearly dropped every book to the ground as her phone vibrated with a start in her pocket, fumbling to keep everything in her arms steady as she jumped at the sudden feeling. Struggling to balance everything with one hand, Natasha reached into her jeans to pull out her phone, pressing to answer the call before cradling it between her ear and shoulder.

“Hey.” She greeted, trying to disguise the strain in her voice as she attempted to keep a firm hold of both the phone and her books without coming to a stop.

“I know this is like a big ask but please, please, _please_ can you help me.”

Natasha frowned, not immediately recognising the person on the other end of the phone. Especially when they were speaking in the most pathetic whine Natasha had ever heard.

“You’re going to have to be more specific than that.”

Carol huffed from the other end of the phone, “Math is hard.”

“Okay …” murmured Natasha, stopping in her tracks and re-balancing the book at the top of her pile before continuing, “I suppose it can be, yes.”

“I need help studying for this test and … look it’s cool if you don’t want to but you said you wouldn’t mind helping me and I ju-“

“Where are you?” cut in Natasha, stopping again as she waited for Carol’s answer.

“The library.”

Natasha chuckled, “Which one?”

“_There’s more than one?_”

Resisting the urge to roll her eyes despite the fact Carol couldn’t actually see her, Natasha let out a sigh, “Tell me which building you’re in, you’re obviously hopeless without me.”


	8. Study Group

When Natasha arrived at the library and finally tracked Carol down from her very vague instructions, she had to resist the urge not to laugh at how dramatic the blonde was being in her struggle. Natasha had seen people having a hard time studying before but Carol seemed to be having a sort of genuine crisis. Despite being indoors, she had the hood pulled up on her hoodie, head in her hands and a slump to her shoulders that Natasha couldn’t decide whether she found terribly cute or just straight up pathetic.

Unable to resist the temptation, Natasha dropped her books down onto the table without warning, the loud bang echoing off the walls of the library. Immediately she burst into laughter at the way Carol jolted upright, wide eyes staring back at the red head before she realised what had just happened and scowled.

“How exactly was that helping me?”

Natasha pursed her lips to try and stop from laughing as she slipped into the chair opposite Carol, “What? You expect me to come all this way and not get at least a laugh out of it?”

“I will literally give you anything you want if you _please_ just help this make sense to me.” groaned Carol, pushing the papers towards Natasha with a dramatic flop forward.

Natasha rolled her eyes, leaning closer so she could see what was on the paper, “This is just algebra.”

“What do you mean _just algebra_? I can’t do it.”

Natasha dismissed Carol’s comment with a flick of her wrist, picking up the pen on the table and turning the page so that Carol could see it better, “Of course you can, look, let me show you.”

Slowly but surely, the two girls made their way through the work laid out on the table. After a while Natasha had moved her chair around to the side of Carol, finding it an unnecessary struggle to keep writing upside down. Having Natasha even closer had proved a distraction for the blonde, finding her eyes drifting from the paper every now and again to just watch Natasha as she spoke. Carol was sure she could listen to Natasha talk all day, even if it was about something as boring as algebra. She had been so engrossed in staring at Natasha that she didn’t take in the fact that the red head had stopped speaking until she snapped her fingers in front of her face.

“Hey.” Natasha gave Carol a disapproving look, “Are you paying attention to anything I’m saying?”

Carol tried her best not to look completely dumbstruck, nodding her head enthusiastically at Natasha’s question, “Of course I am.”

“Oh really?” Asked Natasha, quirking a sceptical eyebrow and resting her arm on the table as she leaned in closer to Carol, “What was I talking about then?”

“You know …” Carol trailed off as she looked down at the papers and then back up at Natasha, “Math.”

Natasha scoffed, resting her chin on her hand and narrowing her eyes, “If you don’t appreciate me helping you, I can always just go.”

“Wait, no hang on I’m sorry.” rushed out Carol, leaning further towards Natasha so she would be able to stop her if she actually did attempt to get up and leave, “You’ve really helped me. Like you _really_ have. I just … I mean, in my defence I did warn you that you were too distracting.”

“Oh I think I should definitely leave then…”

Carol’s hand immediately came down to land on top of Natasha’s on the table, “Or you could stay.”

“I thought you needed to study?” Asked Natasha.

“I _have_ studied. Honestly, I feel so much better now, I get it.” Carol didn’t sound overly convincing.

Leaning in towards the other girl, Natasha smirked, “Well in _that_ case, my work here is done isn’t it? No need for me to hang around.”

“I can think of at least one good reason.” argued Carol, brushing her thumb over the top of Natasha’s hand and moving close enough that the tip of her nose grazed Natasha’s, “Let me show you how grateful I am.”

Neither girl spoke for a moment, as if they were both waiting for the other to move first. It would have only taken leaning forward a few centimetres for their lips to touch but still neither of them moved, only able to focus on the way their breathing had gotten slightly heavier at the sudden closeness they were sharing.

Finally breaking eye contact with Carol, Natasha’s eyes flitted behind at the sound of footsteps getting closer, followed by the laughter of what sounded like another group of students. Both girls sat back in their seats; Natasha running a hand through her hair and pushing out a breath as Carol cleared her throat awkwardly and looked back down at her class work as if it was suddenly the most interesting thing in the world.

Glancing at the group of students out of the corner of their eye, both girls sat in silence as they made their way past. If they were trying to look inconspicuous it had failed miserably, getting a couple of funny looks in return for their obvious awkwardness.

As soon as they had passed by, Carol let out a breath she hadn’t realised she was holding, “Jesus … sorry that was …”

“Shut up.” murmured Natasha, not paying any real attention to Carol as she continued to side eye the students until they were completely out of view.

Carol frowned in confusion, not really sure what to do until Natasha grabbed the front of her sweatshirt and pulled her back towards her to press their lips together. Letting the kiss linger for just a few seconds, Natasha pulled back slightly but still kept a hold of Carol’s hoodie so she couldn’t move away. “I have a feeling you’re going to get me into trouble.”

Carol grinned, “I like trouble.”

“I’m coming around to it.” said Natasha quietly, tugging Carol towards her and reattaching their lips.


	9. Running Late

Carol could feel the muscles in her legs starting to throb and a burn in her chest that only comes with overexertion. However she knew she didn’t have much time and so instead of stopping like her body was begging her to, she simply shrugged her backback further up her back and kept running as fast as she could manage across the college campus.

She very nearly took a few people out along the way, shouting an apology over her shoulder as a group of girls let out a surprised yell and jumped out of the way as Carol pretty much came tearing through. Lifting her head, she could see her goal in sight, taking a deep breath and pushing through the pain as she picked up the pace as best she could.

Finally reaching the bench outside of the building she was looking for, Carol near enough collapsed down onto it. She sucked in a desperate breath for air, pressing her hand to her ribs and wincing as she felt a stitch coming on. It had barely been a few seconds of her trying to gather her composure when Carol heard the voice she had been waiting for behind her.

“What are you doing here?”

Looking up at the girl standing beside her, Carol tried her best to not look completely spent and shot Natasha what she hoped was a convincing smile, “Oh hey, nothing much you know … just hanging out.”

“Just _hanging out_? Right here? On this bench outside my class?” Asked Natasha, quirking an eyebrow and smirking as she pointed in the direction over her shoulder, “So that wasn’t you I just saw literally sprinting over here?”

“Errrrr …” Carol’s eyes darted off to the side as she frowned and tried to think of any kind of excuse before conceding and jumping to her feet with a dramatic huff, “Okay, _**yes**_, I wanted to speak to you and I’m running ridiculously fucking late so I don’t have much time.”

Natasha couldn’t stop a laugh, watching as Carol dropped her backpack to the ground and started digging around inside of it, “You could have just texted me.”

Shaking her head vigorously from side to side, Carol pulled a few items of clothing from her bag and dumped them onto the bench next to them both, “No I … well I just got out of this test and genuinely Nat, I don’t think I could have done it without you. And I wanted to say thank you properly. You put in a lot of time and I really appreciate it.”

“You don’t have to thank me.” said Natasha quietly, frowning as Carol kicked her trainers off to one side. All Natasha could focus on was trying to keep her train of thought as Carol started to unbuckle her jeans and push them off, “I really don’t mind I … _what are you doing?” _

Looking back at Natasha as if she wasn’t doing something completely bizarre like getting changed in the middle of campus, Carol shrugged as she kicked her jeans off to reveal her running shorts, “I told you I’m late and if I don’t get changed while we talk, I’m going to be even later.”

“Well just go, we can talk some other time.” insisted Natasha, looking around to see if anyone else had noticed what was happening.

Carol shook her head, unzipping her hoodie and taking it off to stuff it in her bag, “I’m serious, I wanted to thank you. You’re an actual life saver. And I also wanted to ask if you’re gonna be at the game tonight?”

“The game tonight?” Asked Natasha, her voice faltering slightly as Carol pulled her shirt over her head and threw it down into her backpack, leaving her stood in just her shorts and a sports bra. Natasha actively looked up at the sky, her cheeks flushing slightly pink as she stared upwards to avoid full on staring at the girl opposite her.

“Yeah the football game.” Explained Carol, picking up a vest from the bench and unfolding it.

“I erm…” Natasha dared a glance at Carol, seeing that she was still in a state of undress and clenching her jaw as she looked back up at the sky, “I don’t know. My friends are going, I was thinking about it.”

Carol nodded, pulling the vest over her head and slipping her arms inside of it, “Well you should come, it’s gonna be fun.”

“I know what you’re doing.” muttered Natasha, folding her arms across her chest and still refusing to look directly at the other girl.

“Oh yeah? What am I doing then, smartass?”

Natasha’s jaw worked as her eyes darted back to meet Carol’s, trying to fight the urge to smile at the mock innocence on the blonde’s face, “You show up here after my class, all sweaty, with your veins popping everywhere and taking your shirt off and looking super sexy and then I’m supposed to bend to your will and agree to go to this game tonight.”

Carol chuckled, kneeling down to pull on her trainers and starting to tie them as she looked up at Natasha with a wide grin, “Is that right? I didn’t think a _nice, respectable girl _like you would fall for something like that.”

“Well … yeah … you’re right.” mumbled Natasha, her tone sounding less than convincing as she watched Carol finish tying her shoes.

Somehow Carol’s grin broadened even further, “But say you _did_ come to the game tonight, I wouldn’t exactly be disappointed to see you. In fact, I think I still have some thanks I should give you for all of your help studying.”

Natasha’s cheeks turned a deeper shade of pink at Carol’s statement, clearing her throat and trying to stop herself from just giving in already, “Maybe I’ll be there.”

“Good. I hope you are.” added Carol, standing back up again so that she was level with the red head. Slipping her bag back onto her shoulder, she leaned in closer to Natasha with a smirk, “And you know if you ever want another look, you only have to ask.”

Natasha watched as Carol said nothing for a moment, gripping the bottom of her vest with a mischievous grin. As she went to lift it higher, Natasha jumped forward, resting her hands on top of Carol’s and stopping her from exposing any more of her body again, “Behave yourself!”

Laughing at Natasha’s reaction, Carol took a hold of one of the other girls hands properly and gave it a quick squeeze before stepping back with a wink, “Catch you later.”

Natasha was speechless for a second, torn between wanting to punch the shit-eating grin from Carol’s face, or just grabbing her and kissing her until all the air had left her lungs. She settled on simply scowling playfully at the blonde as she took a few steps backwards, “You’re getting better, Captain.”

“I better see you there!” shouted back Carol, pointing her finger back at Natasha and giving her a final smile before turning on the spot and breaking into another run.


	10. Still Cute

##  _Carol_

If she was honest with herself, all Carol wanted to do was crawl into bed and sleep. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d actually went to bed at a decent time and gotten a good nights rest. She was blessed with having a lot of energy and found it easy to coast by on minimal sleep when she needed to, but the fact she’d actually had to pull her finger out and spend late nights studying on top of a social life and training was beginning to cause exhaustion to creep in.

Carol had a niggling voice in the back of her mind that told her to just grab a quick bite from the cafeteria and then head back to her room. Maybe put a movie on and get a reasonable amount of sleep before the chaos started again the next morning. But she knew her friends would never let her live it down if she missed the game. Not to mention the fact she did actually want to go and have fun with everyone. Carol had always been outgoing and friendly and she thrived off the company of others. It was no surprise that she had never struggled in school with making friends. So when she had arrived at college with the opportunity to make more and just enjoy being young and a little reckless, she had dived straight in and it was obvious to everyone around her that she was in her element. That didn’t mean she didn’t get a little tired of it sometimes.

Of course there was always the other reason she wanted to make an appearance at the game that night. When she first met Natasha, Carol would be the first to admit that she had been drawn to the red head purely because of how breathtakingly attractive she had found her. Natasha was beautiful, and even though she was by no means the most popular girl in school, Carol had to assume that Natasha knew it as well.

But she had also found Natasha totally fascinating and her quick wit and snappy remarks had only made Carol want to know more. Since then Carol had been unable to get Natasha out of her head, and although she didn’t want to dwell too much on what that might mean for her, she simply chose to go along with it and enjoy Natasha’s company whenever she could.

With that in mind, Carol opted against going back to her room and getting some rest. Instead she busied herself with a quick shower and an outfit change after training and made her way over to the football game.

##  _Natasha_

“Are you sure you’re feeling alright, Romanoff?”

At the sound of her friends question, Natasha raised her head to shoot him a curious frown, “What?”

“You said you had class early tomorrow.” he explained, digging his hand into the bag of chips he was carrying and stuffing a fistful into his mouth, “So I figured you’d be giving the game a miss as usual.”

“Get off my back, Clint.” shot Natasha, trying her best to make her voice sound casual, “I’m allowed to have fun sometimes you know.”

Throwing his hands up dramatically, Clint laughed, “Duh, that’s what we’ve all been trying to tell you.”

“I just wanted to hang out and blow off some steam, is that okay?”

“Hey, I’m joking!” he insisted, stepping to the side and slinging an arm around her shoulders, “I’m glad you’re here, this should be a laugh. Tony and Maria are meeting us here.”

Natasha nodded, wrapping an arm around his waist in return and smiling as they made their way inside of the stadium, “Cool. I’m looking forward to it actually.”

Giving her body a final squeeze, Clint lowered his arm from around Natasha’s shoulders to pick his phone out of his pocket. The pair of them scanned the stands to try and located their friends and take their seats. The buzz inside of the grounds made it difficult to think, excited shouts and cheers from the hundreds of students around them barely distinguishable from one another.

Just as Clint explained he would try and call them, Natasha felt her own phone buzz in her pocket. Pulling it out to look at the screen, Natasha was powerless to stop the small smile and blush that made it’s way across her face.

_You know I’m kind of disappointed, you would have looked real cute in a football jersey. _

Pursing her lips to try and hide her smile at the message, Natasha raised her head just enough to subtly scan the stands, but couldn’t see Carol in all of the mayhem. Instead she settled for just shooting a message back in response.

_Clearly hasn’t stopped you from looking x_

“Hey they’re up here apparently.” shouted Clint, grabbing Natasha’s attention again, “Come on.”

Nodding her head, Natasha felt her phone vibrate again and looked down to read the message. Natasha tried to ignore the way her body heated up and pushed her phone into her pocket, her smile widening further at Carol’s words.

_Don’t worry, you’re still cute_


	11. More Fun

It wasn’t until the third quarter that Carol’s impatience actually got the better of her. The excitement in the pit of her stomach had started to build the moment her eyes had settled on Natasha. She hadn’t been entirely convinced that Natasha would even turn up, after all the whole reason it had taken them so long to properly meet was the fact that Natasha rarely showed her face at the same things as Carol. Yet just before the match was about to start, Carol’s attention had been drawn to one of the entrances to the stadium by a flash of red hair, and a smile had crept its way across her face at the realisation that Natasha was actually there.

When the referee signalled the end of the quarter, Carol had hastily retrieved her phone from her pocket to shoot out a quick message. She gave one of her friends a nudge in the ribs, explaining she was grabbing a drink before heading down the stairs and towards one of the exits.

Carol tried to appear casual as she leaned back against one of the walls, keeping her head low as not to attract anyone’s attention as a few students made their way past during the small break. She wasn’t sure whether Natasha would even see her message. Maybe Natasha was going to be having enough fun with her friends and wasn’t interested in leaving them. Carol was probably only a few seconds away from talking herself out of waiting any longer and just heading back to her seat when she sensed the presence of someone coming to a stop in front of her.

Raising her head to look up from the ground, Carol smiled back at the other girl as she stood opposite, folding her hands behind her back and leaning back against the wall to mirror Carol’s position.

“You summoned me?”

Natasha’s words had a teasing undertone, a subtle smirk playing across her lips as she looked back at Carol and waited for her response. The blonde looked somewhat coy and Natasha couldn’t tell if she was a little embarrassed to have sent the message asking to meet up in the first place.

“I guess I did. Yeah, I …” Carol trailed off as a pair of students walked past, too engrossed in their own conversation to pay much attention to the two of them, “I’m glad you made it.”

Natasha smiled, resting her weight against the wall behind her and crossing one leg over the other, “I’m glad too.”

“I just wanted to … Jesus.” Carol pulled a face as another group of people rounded the corner and started to make their way past. One of them gave Carol a small wave and said hello as they passed, the blonde returning a friendly smile before scratching at the back of her neck uncomfortably and looking back at Natasha, “Sorry I wanted to talk to you but I guess this isn’t exactly a good place to do it.”

“No I guess not.” agreed Natasha, kicking herself up from the wall and stepping towards Carol. She did a quick glance around them before reaching forwards to take Carol’s hand in her own before nodding her head to the left, “Come with me.”

Carol frowned, “We haven’t got much time, the game’s starting again soon.”

“This will only take a minute.”

There was no further arguement from Carol as she felt Natasha tug on her hand a bit harder, picking up her pace as she pretty much power walked down the corridor. Carol had no idea where they were going, the pair of them taking a left and then a quick right until eventually the noise from the stadium was more distant and they were no longer surrounded by other students but instead in a quiet hallway with a single door leading off from it.

Stopping for a moment, Natasha did another quick scan around before grabbing the front of Carol’s shirt and walking her backwards, using one hand to open the handle behind the two of them and the other to push them both through the doorway.

“Natasha wha are yo-“

Carol didn’t get a chance to finish her sentence as Natasha kicked the door shut behind them and pulled Carol forward so that she was able to press their lips together. Not that Carol was about to complain about it, resting her hands on Natasha’s waist and eagerly returning the gesture. One of Natasha’s hands moved from the front of Carol’s shirt, brushing over the blonde’s shoulder and the side of her jaw until it came to rest at the back of her neck.

Arching her body further into the other girl’s, Natasha groaned quietly at the way Carol’s tongue slipped effortlessly into her mouth, deepening the kiss until it was becoming more heated and messier with each passing second. Carol could feel her heart hammering in her chest as Natasha’s fingers gripped at her hair, a warm wave of arousal working its way through her until her body started to act mostly of its own accord. She only needed to take a few steps forward until Natasha’s back was against the door, the red head moaning into the kiss as she hit the wood and Carol’s tongue brushed over her own again. The way Carol was kissing her along with the way her body was pressed so perfectly and completely against her own was making Natasha feel a way she had only experienced a couple of times in her life. It was almost too much, her head swimming with excitement and arousal until all she could focus on was Carol’s mouth moving against hers and the sound of their heavy breaths and moans.

Digging her fingertips more firmly into Natasha’s waist, Carol dipped her thumbs underneath the red head’s shirt. She smirked into the kiss at the shiver it earned her, not missing the hot flush to Natasha’s skin and the quiet moan into her mouth. They stayed like that for several minutes, lips moulded together and rough hands moving to grab at anything they could to pull the other impossibly closer.

Eventually it was Natasha who broke first, tilting her head back against the door to pull away from the kiss. She kept a hold of Carol’s face in her hands, forcing some distance between the two of them as she gulped in a breath and tried not to be completely overwhelmed by the way Carol was back looking at her.

“We should head back.” whispered Natasha, words just about coherent as she tried to catch her breath.

Carol swallowed hard, unable to quite think straight with Natasha so close to her, “I’m having more fun here with you.”

Chuckling quietly, Natasha traced a finger along the underside of Carol’s jaw, “So am I, but we can’t stay here. Someone’s gonna catch us and then how are we gonna explain what we were getting up to in this random storage room?”

“I don’t … okay fair point. Can I see you later?”

Natasha pulled a face, “I have … _fuck_, I can’t I have such an early start tomorrow.”

“Hey it’s okay.” assured Carol, leaning forward and pressing her lips to Natasha’s again briefly, “We can figure something out.”

“I _do_ want to see you.” said Natasha quietly, repeating Carol’s earlier action and leaning forward to reattach their lips quickly, “You’re growing on me.”

Carol laughed, “Good to know.”

“How about I call you tomorrow, and we can figure this all out?”

Nodding her head, Carol smiled as she leaned forward enough to brush her lips against Natasha’s, “Only if you kiss me again.”

“Fine, but you better make it snappy Danvers.”


	12. Morning Coffee

Carol was feeling a little worse for wear when she woke up the morning after the game. There was a dull throb at the front of her skull that told her maybe she had overdone it a little at the after party. She hadn’t even particularly wanted to attend the party, but her friends had made a compelling arguement and she had found herself unable to think of a reason not to tag along. Unfortunately she was an early riser by nature and despite spending most of the previous night partying, had still woken up at the crack of dawn, unable to get back to sleep.

The shower she’d had that morning had helped slightly, two pain killers and a two large glasses of water had certainly eased her headache a little. Now all she wanted was some fresh air and a healthy dose of caffeine and maybe then she would have the energy to face another hectic day.

Natasha was just leaving her dorm room when she received Carol’s call, raising the phone to her ear as she locked the door and started to make her way outside, “Didn’t expect to hear from you so early.”

“Yeah I’m cursed with being an early bird.” grumbled Carol, rummaging around in her room for her bag as she spoke, “You got five minutes to grab a coffee with me?”

Humming in thought, Natasha glanced down at her watch, “Since it’s you, I’ve got ten.”

“Great, okay cool errrmm …” Carol trailed off in thought, finally spotting her backback stuffed under her desk and making a grab for it, “Meet me at the coffee stand outside the psychology building, I’m heading over there now.”

By the time Natasha arrived, Carol had already ordered her coffee and was taking an overly eager gulp of it. She was holding an extra cup, pushing it into Natasha’s hand with a smile as she came to a stop in front of her, “Sorry, I had to guess what you’d want.”

Natasha shrugged, “All coffee is good coffee if you ask me, thank you.”

“That’s alright.”

The campus wasn’t exactly deserted at that time on a morning, many students up early to start the day. There was the familiar bustle of college life surrounding the two of them as they stood sipping their drinks by the side of the coffee stand, and Natasha didn’t miss the wince from Carol as someone shouted particularly loud just behind her.

“Heavy night?” she asked, the faintest trace of amusement on her features as she watched Carol scrunch up her nose at the question.

“You could say that.”

Natasha smirked over the rim of her coffee cup at Carol’s none comittal answer, “Aww has someone got a bit of a hangover?”

“No.” muttered Carol, rubbing at her eyes as someone raised their voice behind her again, “I just … okay yes, a little.”

Natasha chuckled and took another sip of her drink, “Naughty, naughty.”

“I will have you know I was very well behaved actually.”

Rolling her eyes, Natasha snorted a laugh, “Why don’t I believe that.”

Before Carol could defend herself further, their conversation was interrupted as a student Natasha didn’t recognise came over to join them. He was clearly familiar with Carol, not even acknowledging Natasha as he slung an arm around Carol’s shoulder and pulled her in towards him to give her head a rough shake.

“Feeling tender this morning Danvers?” he asked with a laugh.

Shrugging him away from her, Carol gave him a forceful shove in the chest and scowled, “Get off me, you asshole.”

He didn’t seem remotely bothered by her annoyance, clearly getting a kick out of winding her up a little, “I’ll take that as a yes.”

“I’m fine, you’re just annoying.” muttered Carol, brushing down her t shirt and straightening out her hair after his attack.

“Hey I’m not surprised, looked like you had a busy night.” he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, “I saw you with that Kennedy chick, she was hot.”

Until his comment, Natasha had been stood fairly patiently beside the two of them as they talked. She didn’t particularly mind his interruption, as rude as it had been and was quite happy to wait while they discussed the previous night. However now she could think of nowhere else she wanted to be less.

“What?!” Carol’s stomach dropped, her vaguely irritated expression immediately switching to just downright glaring at the man stood beside her, “We were just talking. Nothing happened.”

He scoffed, “Sure.”

“I’m serious! Why have you gotta spread shit like that around?” insisted Carol, anger getting the better of her now and shoving him again, “Will you get lost, I’m in the middle of something here.”

Raising his hands in defeat, he took a hasty step back to make his retreat, “Hey, sorry, it’s cool. I’ll catch you later.”

Carol was afraid to turn and face Natasha as they were left alone again, sure that the red head had to be about to tear her a new one for what she had just witnessed. However when she actually dared to make eye contact with her, the way Natasha was looking back at her made her feel even worse. Natasha didn’t seem angry at all. But she did look upset and Carol could see the obvious shift in her demeanour that meant Natasha was clearly uncomfortable.

“Tasha-“

“I’ve gotta head off.” interrupted Natasha, downing the last of her coffee and tossing the cup into the bin by the stall.

Carol frowned, stepping closer to the other girl. She lifted her hand as if she was going to reach out and touch Natasha, but there was a fraction of hesitation and her hand stopped just short. “Nothing happened.”

“That’s none of my business.” said Natasha quietly, struggling to meet Carol’s eye as she tried to keep her features neutral. “I just really have to go.”

“Nat, come on you can’t be serious.” the look in Carol’s eyes was hopeful and this time she did reach forward enough to brush her fingers over the top of Natasha’s hand, “He was just … that guy is just a shit stirrer, he doesn’t know what he’s talking about.”

Natasha nodded her head slowly a few times, looking down at the place Carol had just touched her, “It doesn’t matter, it’s nothing to do with me.”

“Okay but obviously this bothers you so why won’t you just talk to me about it.”

Looking back up to meet Carol’s eye, the blonde was surprised to see that Natasha was now definitely annoyed, “Obviously this bothers me? Someone thinks highly of themselves don’t they.”

“Well sorry but I kind of got the impression you’re at least kind of in to me.”

Natasha’s eyes narrowed, “There’s only one person here who’s _into you_, and it isn’t me.”

“This is ridiculous!” blurted our Carol, more frustrated now than anything that this was all happening over nothing and she couldn’t seem to deescalate it, “Nothing happened, why are we even discussing it?”

“You’re right, why _are we_ discussing it? Even if something had happened, it doesn’t matter. It’s not like we’re dating or anything is it. You can do what you want.”

Carol frowned, “Well I’d like to think you’d be a bit bothered.”

“You want to know what bothers me?” snapped Natasha, her patience wearing thin now, “The fact that every time I’m with you, anyone who walks past us looks at me like they feel sorry for me. And you know why they do that? Because they do, Carol. Because they think I’m just another idiot who’s gonna jump into bed with you. I wonder why that is?”

Taken aback by Natasha’s outburst, Carol’s jaw clenched in an attempt to keep her composure, “That’s not true.”

“Isn’t it?” Asked Natasha, her voice quieter now as she rubbed at her forehead and let out a deafeated sigh, “Look it’s fine, seriously it’s fine. But I said I only had ten minutes and I really have to go.”

Reaching forward to try and take Natasha’s hand, Carol was disappointed when the red head simply moved her hand out of the way, “Tasha come on, please, this is stupid.”

“I’ve got to go.” repeated Natasha, giving Carol a final glance before turning and walking away.

Carol didn’t move immediately, stunned into silence by what had just happened. She was fairly certain she hadn’t even done anything wrong, not exactly sure how asking Natasha to grab a coffee with her had gone so sideways. What she was sure of, was that some repair work was definitely going to be necessary if she was going to see Natasha again.


	13. Thank You

##  _Natasha_

It had been three days since she had last seen Carol, and Natasha was torn between still being annoyed, and feeling somewhat embarrassed that she had made such a big deal of nothing. Not that she was planning on owning up to that if she could help it. Carol had tried to contact her a couple of times, one phone call and a text message that was basically pleading for Natasha to just speak to her.

And it wasn’t that Natasha didn’t want to speak to her. In a rational mind now that she’d had a few days to think about it, Natasha knew that the whole thing had been blown out of proportion. For starters, as she had already stated: it wasn’t like her and Carol were dating. They had only spent a few occasions together and sure, maybe they had kissed a few times. But that certainly didn’t give Natasha any kind of authority when it came to what Carol got up to and who she got up to it with.

Natasha was also more than aware that people did like to stir gossip. And she had no reason not to believe Carol if she told her nothing had happened. But still there was a niggling feeling in the back of Natasha’s mind that was warning her not to be made a fool of. She suspected she may have been a little harsh in her words to Carol, but she had spoken in the heat of the moment and the fact of the matter was that she _had been embarrassed_.

So for now, Natasha had decided to put some distance between herself and Carol. Give them a chance to cool off and get some perspective after their last conversation. Carol hadn’t tried too hard to pursue her and she wasn’t sure if she was pleased that Carol was respecting her decision, or disappointed that the blonde didn’t care more.

It was confusing and new to Natasha to be so uncertain of her own feelings. She was definitely attracted to Carol but she just couldn’t decide whether they were ever going to be compatible.

In a bid to keep herself in places she would be less likely to bump into the other girl, Natasha had busied herself in the library during her free time. She had a few favourite spots where she could enjoy some quiet time, familiar enough with the building that she knew where she could study without interruption. Getting ahead on some class work was just what she needed to clear her head, and not dwell too much on Carol. Or so she hoped.

##  _Carol_

Frustrated didn’t begin to cut it. In the days following her last meeting with Natasha, Carol had just grown more annoyed if anything. She couldn’t help but feel incredibly wronged, positive that she hadn’t done anything to deserve the silent treatment she was receiving.

She hadn’t wanted to hassle Natasha, knowing enough about the red head already that bombarding her with calls and texts would only serve to anger her further. But she also desperately wanted to speak to her and have this whole thing blow over. It felt ridiculous that Natasha was even avoiding her in the first place and after three days, Carol had pretty much had enough.

Walking down one of the corridors after class, Carol saw her opportuntiy and dashed forward. She almost lost sight of the man she was chasing in the bustle of all the other students, but pushing a few people to one side and breaking into a run, Carol somehow managed to catch up to him.

“Hey Barton, wait up!” she called to try and grab his attention, resting a hand on his shoulder as she finally got close enough.

Turning to see who was trying to stop him, Clint was surprised to see Carol attempting to catch her breath, “Yeah?”

“You’re friends with Nat, right? Natasha Romanoff.”

He raised a curious eyebrow, “Why are you asking?”

“Do you know where I can find her?” Carol’s attempt to not sound too desperate didn’t go as planned.

Clint didn’t particularly want to give out any information on his friend. He knew Natasha liked her privacy, not to mention the fact that Carol Danvers didn’t exactly strike him as the kind of person Natasha would want hanging around, “That depends. What do you need her for?”

Weighing up her options and knowing he wouldn’t help her willingly, Carol made the impulsive decision to lie, “She has a book I need for class. She said she’d be finished with it today and I really, _really_ need it.”

“Just call her, I’m sure she’ll give you it”

Carol sighed, “I’ve tried that. Come on man, help me out here.”

Looking back at the blonde, Clint could see that she genuinely seemed desperate and for that reason his resolve crumbled almost immediately, “She’s in the library at the bottom of campus. She’s usually on the top floor.”

“_Oh my god_, thank you.” Carol punched him enthusiastically in the bicep, unable to hold back a smile as he gave her the information she needed before turning and breaking into a run towards the library.


	14. Somewhere Private

Carol didn’t actually expect her plan to find Natasha to go so smoothly. She figured that the red head would either be with other people, or at least somewhat difficult to track down. In fact locating Natasha had been so easy, that Carol hadn’t really been given much time to consider what it was she wanted to say. She watched silently from the end of the row of books Natasha was occupying, just enjoying how peaceful and relaxed she looked leaning against the shelves and fanning through the pages of a book.

Taking a cautious step forward, Carol decided to just go for it, resting an elbow on one of the shelves and facing Natasha, “I was wondering if you wouldn’t mind helping me find a book.”

Natasha jumped at the sudden sound of someone else’s presence, looking up from her book to meet Carol’s eye, “What book?”

“I’m not sure really.” admitted Carol, stepping closer to the red head, “See I just need some help … and I was hoping to find the right book that would help me.”

Nodding her head slowly, Natasha played along with whatever game Carol was playing, lowering her book to give the blonde her full attention, “What is it you need help with?”

“Well … there’s this girl. And I actually really like her, _but_ … she’s not returning my calls at the minute.”

Natasha tilted her head, “Sounds like quite a problem.”

“So I was hoping maybe there was something around here, that could help me … fix it.”

“I don’t know.” murmured Natasha, placing the book back on the shelf and taking a step towards Carol, “There might be a chance I can help you.”

Matching Natasha’s movement, Carol stopped just a foot short of the other girl, “I’d really appreciate that. I’m kind of bummed out about this whole thing.”

“Are you?”

Carol nodded her head, closing the remaining distance between the two of them and leaning forward to rest a hand on the shelf beside Natasha’s head, “I would _really_ like to be able to kiss you again.”

“I’m not about to stop you.”

That was all the permission Carol needed to duck her head and capture Natasha’s lips, a sense of relief washing over her as she felt Natasha immediately wrap her arms around her shoulders and pull her closer. The kiss got heated in a matter of seconds, Carol taking a hold of Natasha’s waist and walking them further back into the aisle. Natasha tightened her arms around Carol’s neck, her fingernails digging into the blonde’s flesh as she pressed their bodies more firmly together.

When Carol’s tongue slipped into her mouth, Natasha moaned in appreciation and the sound only spurred Carol on, turning the pair of them to the side so she could press Natasha up against one of the stacks.

The sound of another groan and the books shifting on the shelf echoed against the surrounding walls and it was only then that both girls took in how much noise they were actually making. The library was completely silent other than the sounds of heavy breathing, soft moans and the small creak the shelf made as Carol gripped the underside of Natasha’s thighs and lifted her up onto the edge of it.

Natasha couldn’t contain the noise that left her as she wrapped her legs around Carol’s waist and felt the blonde press her hips into her. The buckle of Carol’s jeans brushed just right between Natasha’s legs and she found herself grateful for Carol’s tongue in her mouth to at least somewhat muffle the moan that erupted from the back of her throat.

Breaking the kiss with a small laugh, Carol leaned back to brush her thumb over Natasha’s lower lip, “Shhh, I don’t wanna have to stop.”

As Carol rocked her hips forward again, Natasha’s legs tightened around her waist and she tilted her head enough to bite down on Carol’s thumb to stop from making a sound this time. The way Carol’s eyes darkened at the action only turned Natasha on further, taking a hold of the back of Carol’s neck and pulling her face back towards her own. Natasha couldn’t actually remember being this turned on in her life, the feeling of Carol’s hands on her waist and her body pressed against her own in a way that felt _so damn good_, she couldn’t stop herself from just kissing Carol like her life depended on it.

With another rough thrust forwards, Natasha found herself pretty much pinned between Carol and the books, a strong wave of pleasure taking over her to the point where she actually had to break the kiss to catch a breath. She could feel her heartbeat in her ears, a tight knot in the pit of her stomach and her clit throbbed where Carol’s body was pressed against it. Natasha couldn’t quite believe how worked up she had gotten already, her breathing ragged and her skin flushed simply from a quick make out session in the library, allbeit an incredibly heated one.

“Wait.” Natasha sucked in a breath, bringing a hand to grab a fistful of the front of Carol’s shirt, “Let me just … _fuck_, we need to stop.”

Carol broke into a mischievous grin, leaning forward and pressing an open mouthed kiss to the side of Natasha’s jaw, “But I missed you.”

“I missed you too.” breathed out Natasha, her eyes closing and her head tilting back as Carol’s lips worked down her neck, “But, god, okay its starting to_ feel really good._”

Laughing against Natasha’s skin, Carol slowly rolled her hips forward, “You say that like it’s a bad thing.”

“It’s not, it’s definitely not but …” Natasha took Carol’s face in her hands to bring it back level with her own, “I’m not having sex with you in a library.”

“Oh.” The words sobered Carol somewhat, pausing the subtle rock of her hips, “We don’t have to … I wasn’t … we don’t have to do anything if you don’t want to.”

“I said we weren’t having sex in a library.” continued Natasha, giving the other girl a reassuring smirk and leaning forward to press a kiss to her cheek, “We’re definitely having sex.”

Carol’s heart skipped at the statement, tightening her grip on Natasha’s waist, “Thank god for that.”

“We need to … I don’t know … make like an actual plan to see each other. Somewhere _private_.”

Running her hands down Natasha’s body, Carol stopped at her ass so she was able to pull her closer, as she racked her brain to try and think of any kind of suggestion, “ Okay … um, my roommate works every Thursday night, she’s usually gone until about three in the morning.”

“I can work with that.” said Natasha quietly, pressing a quick kiss to Carol’s lips.

Carol frowned, “But today is Monday.”

“Yes.” agreed Natasha, tilting her head more so she was able to kiss the side of Carol’s jaw instead.

“I don’t think I can wait that long.”

Laughing quietly against Carol’s skin, Natasha placed a kiss underneath her ear and squeezed her thighs around her waist, “I’ll make it worth your wait.”

“Okay, fine.” agreed Carol reluctantly, her words earning her a satisfied kiss from Natasha.

Not wanting to detach herself from the other girl all together, Carol pressed herself forward to deepen the kiss, her body shifting against Natasha in a way that had the red head breaking away to gasp at the jolt of pleasure it conjured and shake her head with a grin, “No, no, no ... you’ve gotta stop that and get out of here or I’m gonna _maul_ you right here.”

Carol threw her head back and laughed but conceded all the same, stepping back to allow Natasha to stand back up properly and put some distance between the two of them. Carol raised her hands in defeat, “I’ll be good.”

“We can talk properly later, is that okay?”

Nodding her head in agreement, Carol took a further step backwards, “Definitely.”

“Now go. Let me focus, I have work to do.” teased Natasha, shooing the other girl away from her playfully.

Carol flattened her hands over the front of her jacket to straighten it out, giving Natasha a final smile and a goodbye before doing as she was told and leaving. Making her way out of the library with a wide smile on her face, there was only one place Carol could think of to go. A cold shower was definitely in order.


	15. Copy That

Natasha was broken from her usual Wednesday afternoon solice on the green when Carol dropped down to the ground beside her with a dramatic sigh. She settled herself slightly further forward than Natasha, her back to the red head and her legs stretched out in front of her as she looked out at the people milling around campus and rested back on one of her elbows.

“I thought you had training.” observed Natasha quietly as she turned back to her papers to scribble a few more notes down.

Carol rubbed at her nose, letting out another irritated breath as she slouched further against the grass by Natasha’s feet, “I’ve been told to rest. I pulled a muscle this morning and they’re worried I won’t be able to run in the competition next week.”

“And I can see you’re thrilled about that.” Natasha sounded amused, even when she could only see the side of Carol’s face, she could tell from the blonde’s body language that she was most definitely sulking.

Carol huffed, “They’re being dramatic. It’s a pulled muscle.”

Folding over the book in her lap, Natasha sat forward as she tossed her glasses down on top of her bag, “Right, _they’re_ being dramatic.”

“I’m fine.” muttered Carol, her nose wrinkling at the teasing tone to Natasha’s words. “It’s just my shoulder anyway.”

Shuffling forward a few inches, Natasha sat a little closer to the other girl before speaking again, “It can’t hurt to just be careful and rest, don’t be a baby.”

“I’m not being a baby.” grumbled Carol, turning her head slightly to glance at Natasha, “You’re being a baby.”

Natasha laughed, leaning forward to lower her voice and speak more quietly near Carol’s ear, “I think someone doesn’t like being left out.”

“This isn’t going to work.” mumbled Carol, “I’m not even bothered. You’re not going to wind me up about it.”

Laughing louder this time, Natasha raised a hand to run her fingers lightly down the middle of Carol’s back, “You’re a terrible liar.”

Carol felt a slight shiver as Natasha’s fingertips travelled the length of her spine, her body turning in to the action in a way that had Carol wincing as her shoulder tightened with a sharp pain.

Watching as Carol raised a hand to her shoulder and pressed down to relieve some of the tension, Natasha’s smile quickly turned to a frown, “Are you sure you’re alright?”

“Yeah honestly I’ll be fine.” assured Carol, rolling her arm and tilting her neck from side to side, “It’s just a bit strained, it’ll be better by morning.”

Natasha hummed in thought, “Oh I don’t know, maybe we should cancel our date tomorrow just to be sure.”

This time the wince from Carol was more noticeable, as she turned her head quickly without thinking to look at Natasha properly. The blonde whined at the pain but it didn’t stop her from staring back at Natasha in the hope she was joking, “No. Hang on. I’m _seriously_ fine.”

“You’re not going to be if you don’t sit still.” scolded Natasha, raising her hand higher to rest it on top of Carol’s shoulder. “We’re still good for tomorrow though, right?”

Carol nodded, tilting her head towards the contact on her shoulder and groaning quietly as she felt Natasha dig her thumb more forcefully into the aching spot in her muscle, “Of course we are.”

“Good.” Natasha’s fingers dipped under the back of Carol’s shirt, her nails scraping lightly over the blonde’s shoulder blades as she spoke. “So you better get home and rest, hadn’t you?”

Pushing herself up from the ground, Carol nodded in agreement as she held her hand out and pulled Natasha to her feet, “Right after I walk you to class.”

“Oh no, you’re not- Carol!”

Ignoring the scolding she was receiving, Carol ducked out of the way of Natasha’s arms as she tried and failed to stop her from picking up her bag and the accompanying stack of books.

“If you call me tomorrow and tell me you’re in too much pain, just from your own stubbornness, I’m gonna be so mad.” Warned Natasha, ceasing her attempts to grab her belongings back all the same.

Carol simply smiled, gesturing for Natasha to walk ahead as she shifted everything into a comfortable position to carry, “I can assure you that you’re not at risk of being stood up.”

“You never know, a lot can happen between then and now.”

With a shake of her head, Carol laughed quietly, “No, you’re safe. Don’t worry. I’m looking forward to it, Nat.”

“Me too.”

The two of them hardly spoke again as they made their way towards Natasha’s class, only coming to a stop once they had reached the door and Carol handed the red head’s things back to her.

“Well I believe a thank you is in order.” said Natasha, “And I will see you tomorrow at six.”

Leaning forward and standing on her tiptoes to press a kiss to Carol’s cheek, Natasha had to laugh as the blonde turned her head just in time for their lips to meet instead.

“Stop! I have to get inside.” laughed Natasha, although she hardly sounded like she meant it, allowing Carol to lean closer and wedge her in place between the door and her body.

The kiss had barely lasted a couple of seconds when the door that Natasha had her back against promptly opened, the red head taking a wobbly step back to keep her balance at the sudden lack of support behind her. She very nearly dropped everything she was carrying, grateful when Carol reached forward to grab her arm and stop her from collapsing through the doorway completely. The fact that she hadn’t fallen over was little comfort when Natasha looked up to see who had opened the door, her professor eying the two of them disapprovingly.

“I thought you said you were going to come in early today to go through that presentation. Which makes you late. Although now I see why.” the professor turned to Carol who had since taken a hasty step backwards, “You’re not in this class Miss Danvers.”

“Copy that.” agreed Carol, pointing a finger at the professor and nodding her head, “Oh hey, that means I can leave.”

The professor’s expression didn’t lighten up, despite the grin on Carol’s face and instead she only seemed to narrow her eyes further. Natasha looked like she was pretty much ready for the ground to swallow her up, one hand to her forehead in an attempt to hide the blush that was colouring her cheeks.

“Maybe try not to distract my students as well?” suggested the professor.

Carol shrugged as she took a step back, her mischevious grin only growing in place, “But look at how cute she is, can you really blame _me_?”

“Danvers.”

The way that the teacher said her name again, told Carol that she was just about pushing her luck too far. The faint pink tinge to Natasha’s face had escalated to a full on embarrassing red, and Carol was sure that if she made another comment, it would be Natasha who killed her and not the professor.

“Okay, okay I’m going.” conceded Carol, raising her hands in surrender and stepping further back as she turned her attention to Natasha and smiled, “I’m gonna see you tomorrow though.”

Natasha pursed her lips, trying not to just sink to the floor in a mortified heap as she nodded her head in agreement, “Okay.”

Shouting a final goodbye, Carol turned and started to head off towards her dorm room. Maybe Natasha was right and she should make the most of being able to rest. Especially when she had a date coming up.


	16. Movie Theatre

The two girls had decided to go watch a movie for their date, both wanting to do something fun away from campus. It was also an opportunity to set an actual plan in place to do something more than grabbing a quick coffee or walking somewhere together.

Natasha was unable to ignore the fact that she had only known Carol a couple of weeks and in that time, she hadn’t really learned much. All of the things she had heard around campus seemed to have a little merit however she could see there was so much more to discover. Carol came across as a bit of a mystery, only allowing people to see what she wanted them to see. She had been given her place in the social hierarchy and she had been happy to steer into it. Was it so bad if people found her a bit arrogant?

Carol had much the same feeling as Natasha. She found the red head confusing at times and every time she thought she understood her, Natasha would say or do something that made her think twice. Natasha would have people believe that she was quite shy and reserved. Carol could see immediately that wasn’t true. And she had found herself drawn to it in a way that she was powerless to stop, unable to fight the surprising need to be around the other girl. Carol wanted to learn more. She wanted to be the one who got to know the real Natasha, outside of being the model student everyone saw her as. She intended to get her way.

And so they had talked. Making their way through the city just after six o clock as they had planned, chatting about their day and upcoming plans for the week. Carol had informed Natasha she was feeling much better. Natasha had told Carol how well her presentation in class had gone. And they had gone from there until they were so lost in their conversation that they didn’t even take in the fact they were arriving at the movie theatre until they stopped right outside of it.

Taking themselves inside, Carol couldn’t believe how easily they were able to talk to each other. She had never experienced such an instant connection with someone where it was no longer necessary to second guess everything she was going to say and could just be herself. It was new and refreshing and it gave Carol a sort of excitement in the pit of her stomach that she only seemed to feel when she was in Natasha’s company.

Natasha had chosen not to overthink the fact she was allowing herself to be taken in so easily. It wouldn’t have taken a genius to see what a catch Carol was. During their first meeting Natasha had to admit she had been impressed by the charming, attractive blonde who had literally dropped into her life. But Natasha was also cautious by nature and she often didn’t put herself in the kind of situation she had now found herself in. Was she really going to spend her time at college dating this girl? It certainly spelled the possibility of causing further complication. Natasha was enjoying her time with Carol though and she didn’t want to ruin it based on overthinking something that might not even happen. The more she got to know Carol, the more she liked. Just because something might be complicated, that didn’t mean it was the wrong decision. Not to mention that admittedly both girls had occasionally thought with something other than their heads. There was an immediate attraction on both sides and being young and not always the most sensible, rational thinking had sometimes gone out of the window in favour of instant gratification.

Their date was a chance to allow more opportunity for getting to know one another, and both girls intended to make the most of it. They had chatted quietly at the back of the theatre as they waited for the movie to start and Natasha managed to restrain herself from teasing Carol about eating virtually all of her snacks before the trailers. Carol had managed to resist the urge to lean forward and kiss Natasha when the red head had pushed her glasses up her nose as the film started.

It wasn’t until about half an hour in that Carol felt Natasha shift in the seat next to her, turning her body slightly and then bringing her hand down to rest on top of Carol’s. The blonde smiled but kept her eyes on the screen, turning her hand over underneath Natasha’s so that she was able to lace their fingers together. It felt nice, and slightly less cheesy than Carol had anticipated, enjoying the way Natasha would occasionally trace her thumb over the top of her hand. A little while later Natasha moved again, this time shuffling over closer to wrap her other arm around Carol’s and lean her head on her shoulder.

Carol tried to ignore the way her heart picked up slightly, tilting her head to press her lips against Natasha’s hair line. She tried to focus on the movie, she really did, but having the other girl pressed against her and the ever lingering possibility of what could be to come later in the night, Carol found it all too tempting to duck her head until Natasha looked up at her before leaning in to press their lips together.

She felt Natasha smiling against her mouth, squeezing Carol’s hand with her own as she indulged the act for a few seconds before sitting back enough to break the kiss. Natasha grinned, nudging Carol’s nose gently with her own, “We’re supposed to be watching the movie.”

“But it’s just a kiss, I promise.” whispered back Carol, attempting to move forward and continue what she had started.

Natasha giggled quietly at the pout she received when she quickly raised a hand to press her fingers against Carol’s mouth and keep her in place, “You’ll have plenty of time for that after the movie.”

Kissing the tips of Natasha’s fingers instead, Carol grinned, “But-“

“But nothing.” cut in Natasha, the smile on her face contradicting the strict tone to her voice as she leaned forward to press a kiss to Carol’s cheek and rest her hand on the back of the blonde’s neck instead, “For once, behave yourself.”

Instinctively Carol tilted her head to give Natasha better access to her skin, pleased when the red head indulged her and kissed her again, this time on her jaw line. “I can’t help it, I’m a textbook trouble maker.”

“I know you like to make trouble.” said Natasha quietly, her lips working down to the side of Carol’s neck, smirking against her skin as she heard the blonde let out a shaky breath. She let go of Carol’s hand to grip the top of her thigh instead, pressing harder with her fingertips as she left an open mouthed kiss just underneath Carol’s ear and went to speak again, “But don’t you want to see what you get when you’re good?”

Carol shivered at the words, her eyes fluttering closed at the way Natasha’s tongue skimmed over the shell of her ear. She could barely think straight with Natasha’s hot breath tickling her skin and the feeling of her fingers digging into her thigh, unable to offer any kind of words until Natasha spoke again.

“You want to be good for me don’t you?” asked Natasha quietly, brushing her mouth over Carol’s ear a final time before leaning back to look the other girl in the eye. She wasn’t disappointed with the obvious effect she’d had on the blonde, her eyes darker and her breathing heavier as she stared back at Natasha.

Swallowing the lump in her throat, Carol nodded dumbly, Natasha’s mouth turning up into a smirk at the sight as she pecked Carol’s lips a final time, “You _are_ very trainable, Captain Danvers.”


	17. Date Night

After the movie the walk back to campus was mostly silent, a stark contrast to the journey there. Another difference was that after they had travelled down a few streets, Natasha took a step closer to Carol so that she was able to slip her hand into the blonde’s, a gesture that earned her a small smile and a gentle squeeze in response.

It wasn’t until they came to a stop outside of Carol’s dorm building that any kind of apprehension started to creep in. Carol wasn’t used to the anxiety she was feeling, and maybe she knew enough about Natasha that she hadn’t been expecting a _fumbling prude,_ but she definitely hadn’t been ready for how easily Natasha was able to go toe to toe with her. Every move she had, every trick in the book, every technique she had mastered over the years didn’t seem to bother Natasha. Or at least not in a way Carol was used to. Sure she wasn’t blind and the way Natasha would look at her sometimes or blush at something she said, had given Carol all the assurance she needed that the red head was attracted to her. But there had been a few too many occasions where Carol had tried to get the upper hand and instead of getting a flustered response, Natasha would simply smirk at her, a mysterious and cheeky glint in her eye that made Carol’s heart stop and her skin flush hot and _damn_ if she could think of anything half way decent to say any more.

Natasha could make her feel like adrenaline was coursing through her veins and her hormones were raging out of control, and that’s exactly how she felt the moment they stood face to face at the front door. The red head had an almost mischevious smile on her face, rocking back and forth on the balls of her feet as she kept her eyes locked on Carol and raised her eyebrows.

“So this is about the time you’d invite me inside.”

Carol swallowed, trying to think clearly, “Right. Yes.”

“Unless you don’t want to …” teased Natasha, cocking her head to the side and not looking in the least bit worried that there was any chance of that being a possibility.

“No. I mean … Yes, I _do_ want you to come inside, I just.” Carol stopped to exhale heavily, looking up at the sky briefly as if willing someone to help her, “Sorry I …”

Rolling her eyes playfully, Natasha took a step towards Carol and rested a hand on the back of her neck. She pulled the blonde closer and leaned up enough to press a lingering kiss to her lips before pulling back with a grin, “Stop over thinking it and just lead the way.”

Carol took a deep breath, taking a moment to just relax and enjoy the way Natasha’s thumb brushed over the nape of her neck before stepping back and nodding her head with a smile, “I think I can manage that.”

As much as she had expected the opposite, the closer the pair of them got to her room, the more Carol felt a sense of calm taking over her. Initially the weight of Natasha’s hand in her own had felt overbearing, her palm beginning to sweat and her breathing growing heavier. But with every step she took, the nerves turned to excitement and then to arousal until eventually when they made it to her door, instead of opening it she found herself pushing Natasha up against the wood and moulding their lips together again.

Natasha smiled into the kiss, bringing one hand up to comb it through Carol’s hair. The gentle touch turned to something else quickly, raking her nails against Carol’s scalp and tugging lightly as the blonde’s tongue slipped into her mouth and pressed their bodies more firmly together. Carol’s hands held tightly to Natasha’s hips, holding her in place as the kiss grew more heated. When Natasha arched her body forward, Carol couldn’t hold back a moan and the sound seemed enough to make Natasha need more.

Patting her hands impatiently at the pockets of Carol’s jeans in a search for her keys, Natasha pulled back enough to speak against the blonde’s lips, “Get the door open.”

Carol nodded her head, mumbling something neither girl could really make out before reattaching their lips. This time it was Natasha’s turn to whimper quietly as Carol’s tongue darted back into her mouth, brushing over her own as the blonde took over the hunt for her keys. The search was not made easy with her mouth latched to the other girl’s, and the ever present distraction of the way Natasha’s body moved against hers, but finally she managed to dig them out from the pocket of her jacket.

Muddling around with the keys in her hand, Carol wanted to curse as she found it near impossible to get a grip on the one she needed without looking. Natasha had to laugh at the other girl’s struggle, breaking the kiss so Carol could actually look down at what she was doing. She didn’t cease her actions all together though, attaching her lips to Carol’s jawline instead and working her way down her throat. Carol visibly shuddered as Natasha covered her neck with hot, wet kisses, almost dropping the keys all together and sucking in a sharp breath as she felt teeth nipping at her skin.

It was tempting to break out in celebration when her key finally slipped into the lock, turning it immediately and pushing down on the handle as Carol walked the pair of them through the door and kicked it closed behind her. As soon as they were alone, things only seemed to escalate. In addition to bringing their lips back together, Natasha found herself pushing Carol’s jacket off her shoulders, not missing a beat before making short work of her shirt as well and tossing it somewhere carelessly. Carol almost wanted to tease Natasha a little about her eagerness, but any words caught in her throat at the sensation of Natasha’s nails dragging down her bare torso and then over her rib cage.

Natasha herself felt uncharacteristically under prepared. She had seen Carol’s body enough to have a good idea of what she was working with, but the way she felt muscles tightening under her fingertips and goosebumps rising on smooth, toned skin was enough to make her groan out in satisfaction. She wanted to feel all of it, pressed against her own body in all the places it could be, and reluctantly she pulled away long enough to free herself of her own shirt.

With every item of clothing that was discarded, Carol walked them closer to her bed at the side of the room. Occasionally they would stumble slightly, tripping over one of Carol’s shoes that she’d carelessly kicked off or wobbling on their own feet as they struggled to see where they were going with their mouths still locked together in a heated kiss. It wasn’t until Natasha felt the back of her knees hit the edge of the mattress that she took the opportunity to turn them around, working at the button of Carol’s jeans as she did so. Sliding the zip down, Natasha pulled back from the kiss as she pushed the blonde’s jeans off and pressed Carol in the chest until she flopped down onto the edge of the bed. It should have been nerve wracking. It should have felt _uncomfortable_ to be under such intense scrutiny, sat in just her underwear as Natasha stood in front of her, scanning over her body with hungry eyes.

But Carol didn’t feel nervous at all, leaning back on her hands and tilting her head to the side as she wet her lips and looked back at Natasha with a grin that was bordering on cocky, “I think it’s only fair you level the playing field now.”

“Just taking in the view.” hummed Natasha with a smirk, raking her eyes over Carol again before removing her own trousers and kicking them to one side. Moving closer, Natasha grabbed Carol’s face in her hands to kiss her again, deepening it immediately as she settled her thighs either side of the blonde’s waist. The feeling of Natasha pushing down into her lap ensured Carol made quick work of removing the red head’s bra, her own quickly following and Carol actually had to break away to catch her breath at the feeling of Natasha leaning forward enough that her hardened nipples brushed against her chest.

Natasha’s eyes fluttered open as Carol pulled back to gulp in a breath, her chest rising and falling heavily, lips pink and swollen, and skin flushed.

“You okay?” Asked Natasha quietly, running a hand through Carol’s hair in a vain attempt to flatten the mess she had made from tugging on it.

Nodding her head hurriedly up and down, Carol broke out into a wide smile as she ran her hands over the top of Natasha’s thighs, “You have no idea how much I want you.”

Matching Carol’s grin, Natasha pushed on the other girl’s shoulders until she was lay back against the mattress. She shuffled forward to straddle Carol’s waist, leaning down to rest her hands either side of her head. Her face was close enough that when she spoke, her lips brushed against Carol’s with every word, “Don’t worry, I’m gonna give you what you want.”

The tone of Natasha’s voice and the way the words had rolled so silkily from her tongue made the statement sound all the more sinful to Carol’s ears, not even attempting to stop a moan of approval. Shuffling backwards on her elbows, Carol moved further up the bed until her head hit the pillows, Natasha matching each move she made until they came to a stop and she could lean down and reattach their lips. Before Carol could do anything further, she felt Natasha’s hands slipping into her own, fingers lacing together until she was able to take a firm hold of Carol’s hands. The blonde’s breath caught in her throat and she felt a flood of arousal as Natasha brought her hands up to press them into the pillow either side of her head. She felt Natasha grin into the kiss, breaking away from her mouth and grazing her teeth along her jaw line as she tightened her hold on Carol’s hands.

“I’m gonna give you what you want … but I wanna have my fun with you first.”

Natasha’s lips curled further at the way Carol’s eyes bunched closed, letting out a whine that she would have been embarrassed to let anyone else hear. But for reasons that escaped her in that moment, Carol wasn’t embarrassed to let _Natasha_ hear it. In fact the only sounds she found herself able to make were those of enjoyment, feeling her body beginnng to move impatiently underneath the other girl as Natasha started working her lips down her neck again. Her skin was tingling by the time she felt Natasha’s tongue drag over her collar bone, and once Natasha’s head dipped lower to pinch a nipple between her teeth, Carol couldn’t care less if she came across pathetic as long as Natasha would just keep touching her.

Somehow Natasha resisted the urge to laugh at how responsive Carol was being, but there was still a smug smile on her face when she pulled back to look up at the girl beneath her. She shuffled back slightly, shifting her body over so she was able to press her thigh between Carol’s legs to keep them apart. Natasha ran her tongue over her lower lip to hide the broadening of her grin as almost immediately, Carol pushed down against her thigh, grateful for anything to relieve some of the pressure that had started to build.

Leaning down again, Natasha pressed her fists into the pillow either side of Carol’s head to box her in as she lowered her face enough to brush their lips together. She kept her eyes focused on Carol, watching intently as she applied more pressure with her thigh. Natasha wanted to groan out herself at the sight; the way Carol’s muscles tightened and her back arched into her, a whine coming from the back of her throat and one hand tangling itself in Natasha’s hair at the warm rush of arousal that travelled the length of her body.

As soon as Natasha pulled back, Carol wanted to complain at the loss of contact but she didn’t get a chance to get her words out before Natasha was dragging her final item of clothing down her legs and removing them completely. She pressed a kiss to Carol’s hip bone, running her tongue over her stomach before eventually moving so they were face to face again. Natasha’s shit eating grin was still in place, especially seeing how flustered the blonde had already become. “You’re a little impatient.”

“You’re a little slow.”

Natasha laughed at the snappy reply, cupping a hand to Carol’s jaw and leaning down to snag her lower lip between her teeth, “You want something? All you have to do is ask.”

Huffing at what was so blatantly a taunt, Carol pulled Natasha down on top of her. Their lips came together once again, the kiss hungry and messy but by now both girls were too turned on to make it anything less. Natasha shifted enough that she was half on top of Carol’s body, one hand resting on the blonde’s hip as she slipped her thigh back between her legs and pressed down harder this time. A moan vibrated against Natasha’s lips and combined with the wetness coating her thigh, the red head became nothing short of consumed by lust. Carol felt like it was a lifetime of Natasha’s lips moving against her own, then down her neck and then over her collarbone before they finally moved to one of her breasts. She actually shuddered at the pleasure that shot so satisfyingly down her spine as Natasha’s tongue circled one of her nipples, and she felt her pussy clench when one of the red head’s hands came up to pinch at the other.

Hissing out a breath, Carol leaned into the touch as Natasha’s mouth continued to work over one of her breasts. The blonde was already moving her hips as best she could from where she was trapped under the other girl’s body, desperate to gain some kind of friction to dull the throb of her clit and find some relief.

Natasha broke away from Carol’s chest with a smirk, looking up and tutting disapprovingly as she pressed down more harshly against Carol’s hip to hold her still, “I wonder what everyone else would say if they knew how needy you really are?”

“I’m not …” her words were swallowed by a whimper as Natasha retracted her thigh briefly only to press it down harder between Carol’s legs, “I just …”

“What?” Asked Natasha, her expression feigning innocence as she moved the hand that was resting on Carol’s hip to trace over the inside of her thigh instead, “Do you want me to touch you?”

Carol hummed at the way Natasha’s fingers skirted over her skin, tilting her head back against the pillow and closing her eyes the higher her hand travelled. She was conflicted between refusing to give Natasha the upper hand or just giving in to what she wanted, and it didn’t take a genius to see it. Natasha could practically smell the other girl’s brain working, raising her hand just the small distance required to cup Carol’s pussy and squeeze gently to gain her full attention. That was enough for Carol to give in, nodding her head eagerly up and down, “Mhhmm, _god Tasha, _please.”

Pressing a kiss underneath Carol’s ear, a dark chuckle sounded from the back of Natasha’s throat as she extended a single finger, drawing it slowly up the length of Carol’s pussy and then dipping it lower to trace over her clit. Carol’s hips canted up instinctively and she was rewarded by a more firm press of Natasha’s finger. Natasha could feel evidence of her own arousal pooling between her thighs as she circled her finger over Carol’s clit, the warm wetness and the groan from the blonde causing her stomach to tighten.

“More, _please_.” whimpered Carol, eyes falling closed and a hand moving to grip Natasha’s hair as the red head traced over her clit a few more times before lowering her hand to slowly sink a finger inside of her. Carol’s other hand moved to wrap around Natasha’s wrist, moaning out and nodding her head hurriedly up and down, “That’s it, _fuck_, Nat.”

Pressing another sloppy kiss to the side of Carol’s neck, Natasha continued to move at the same languid pace, her finger sinking in and out of Carol’s pussy slowly and purposefully, “You want it like this, is that right?”

“Uhuh, _Jesus_-“ Carols breath caught and her fingers tightened around the other girl’s wrist as Natasha gave a subtle curl of her finger before resuming the same lazy movements, her mouth continuing to suck and nip along the side of Carol’s neck, “There, please.”

Natasha smirked, curling her finger more upward this time and sucking harshly on Carol’s skin before speaking lowly again, “You want more of that?”

The nodding of Carol’s head was almost frantic now, her grip on Natasha’s wrist attempting to gain some kind of control over getting what she wanted, “Just fuck me Nat, _please_.”

“I told you I’m gonna give you what you want baby, it’s okay.” murmured Natasha, raising her head so she was able to look into the other girl’s eyes as she added another finger and pushed into Carol harder. The way the blonde’s face pinched up as she pushed out a groan made Natasha’s pussy gush with her own arousal, picking up the pace of her fingers and relishing in the way Carol would grind down to meet her movements.

Carol herself was hopeless to do anything but move her hips in time with Natasha’s hand, her moans between heavy breaths getting louder with each thrust and curl of the red head’s fingers. It was new for her to surrender herself so thoughtlessly and willingly to someone else, letting them bring her undone and take the lead, but with each shudder of pleasure that Natasha brought her, Carol couldn’t help thinking that she certainly didn’t mind this way of doing things either.

Feeling herself beginning to tighten around Natasha’s fingers, Carol’s hand tugged helplessly at a fistful of red hair. Her hips were moving more sloppily now, unable to quite keep control of her body when Natasha added another finger and the palm of her hand pressed almost _perfectly_against Carol’s clit. A slur of curses and moans followed in quick succession at the pleasant stretch of Natasha’s fingers filling her, arching her back further and digging her heels into the mattress.

“Fuck, I’m close … please- just _don’t stop_.” rasped Carol, the desperation behind her words enough for Natasha to ignore the slight ache in her wrist and fuck her fingers harder into Carol’s pussy with a curl upwards.

Natasha brought her face up to meet Carol’s, a heavy pant for breath fanning her lips as she felt Carol’s pussy beginning to clench around her fingers, snagging the blonde’s lower lip between her teeth and mumbling against her mouth, “That’s it, you gonna come for me?”

Tugging harshly on Natasha’s hair, the words and another hard thrust was enough for Carol to begin to let go. Her throat felt dry and hoarse from moaning but she couldn’t hold in another as she bucked her hips to meet Natasha’s hand and felt her orgasm start to hit. It was more than Carol had found herself prepared for, toes curling into the mattress and nails scratching at the other girl’s skin as she came hard around Natasha’s fingers.

Natasha had to groan herself at the way Carol’s pussy clenched around her fingers, continuing to move her hand slowly so the blonde could ride out her high until her moans turned to quieter whimpers and sighs. Carol felt like her entire body was tingling, skin hot and ears ringing and a wetness either side of her thighs, all evidence of _how good_ Natasha had just fucked her.

Bringing her lips up to meet Carol’s, Natasha hummed in approval at the way Carol held the back of her neck and slipped her tongue eagerly into her mouth. She could only last a couple of seconds before breaking the kiss to collapse back against the pillow, sucking in a few gasps for air in an attempt to catch her breath. Eventually Carol laughed quietly, lowering her head again to look back at Natasha and lazily brush their lips together, “Definitely worth the wait.”

Natasha kissed the side of Carol’s face and grinned, “We’re not done yet.”

Pressing a hand to Natasha’s shoulder, Carol used her body weight to roll the red head onto her back and settle on top, “Oh you’ve got that right.”


End file.
